Divorce royal who isn’t after a king’s ransom
‘Extremely modest’
THE prospect of a blockbuster divorce at the High Court involving one of Europe’s richest dynasties will have had Britain’s top divorce lawyers licking their lips.
So they will not have been pleased when Princess Tessy of Luxembourg decided not to bother with a QC, and represented herself instead.
The 32-year-old former Nato peacekeeper yesterday asked the court to make an ‘extremely modest’ financial award from her husband Prince Louis, the third son of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
The couple, who have two children, married in 2006. Both were in the Luxembourg army and they met during a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, but split up last year.
The sums involved in the court case are confidential, but lawyers for the princess have denied claims she is a gold digger, insisting she only wants the court to make a ‘fair and proper’ award.
Mr Justice MacDonald, who has yet to make a ruling on any award, oversaw a private hearing and has restricted what can be reported.
Yesterday, the princess made an eloquent plea for a share of her estranged husband’s fortune, which she said was derived from his family’s substantial wealth.
Previous estimates have put the Grand Ducal Family’s net worth in the billions.
Unusually, Princess Tessy has no assistance from legal professionals, even though her estranged husband has hired senior barrister James Ewins, QC, to head his legal team.
The princess, who was born in Luxembourg, addressed Mr Justice McDonald in English and summarised her case in a closing speech which lasted the best part of an hour.
Outside court, she refused to say why she had not employed lawyers. However, she was accompanied by a ‘McKenzie friend’ – an amateur legal adviser who can offer informal advice. The couple are divorcing in an English court because their marital home was in London, and they both still live in the capital.
At a preliminary hearing last year, Mr Justice MacDonald urged them to settle their differences.
Prince Louis renounced his claim to the Luxembourg throne just before their marriage.
The princess was born a commoner, Tessy Antony, but was recognised as a member of the royal family and granted her title by royal decree.
The couple had lived in the United States and London. Their marriage broke down in the summer of 2016 and they were granted a decree nisi last year.